The statement did not address the increasing backlash the organization is experiencing as a result of allowing male athletes to compete against women, as reported by The Blaze.
"Ahead of an important period in the WDF calendar with regional cups, the World Masters and the World Championships, the WDF wishes to clarify its position on player withdrawals," the federation wrote in a statement. "Once the first dart has been thrown in a tournament, any player that subsequently withdraws from playing a match may be considered to be bringing the game into disrepute and could face disciplinary action."
"This stance has been taken to suitably protect our Member Countries, their tournaments and tournament sponsors, as well as preserve the integrity of the WDF ranking system," the organization said.
In May, a UK women's darts star, Deta Hedman, forfeited her quarterfinal match against Noa-Lynn van Luevan in Denmark. Leuvan, 27, of The Netherlands, is a biological male who transitioned to female and is ranked No. 5 in the world. Hedman is ranked No. 6.
In March, a couple of months prior to the forfeiture, Noa-Lynn van Leuven won the women's darts championship in the United Kingdom after destroying female competitors in the PDC Women's Series.
Deta Hedman had originally faked an illness to get out of playing Leuven but ultimately came clean. "No fake illness. I said I wouldn't play a man in a ladies' event," said Hedman, who pulled out of another tournament in July over the same reason.
Aileen de Graff and Anca Zijlstra, two female Dutch players, also expressed fury over the inclusion of van Leuven, which caused them to withdraw from the Netherlands national team. De Graff is ranked No. 2 in the world, while Zijlstra takes the No. 18 spot.
Hedman has been distributing petitions at darts events, such as the Welsh Open in late August. She is urging others to support her call for a women-only darts division.
"Women and girls deserve fair competition in darts, and this means we need our own category, restricted to those born female," the petition states. "We believe a women's section in darts is hugely important for the growth of darts.
